Hello Everyone~~ Thankyou for the reviews on the first chapter! I'm glad to see that people are enjoying this =D
And without further ado, here's the second chapter.
The next time Orihime woke, it was to the muffled rays of sunlight that crept beneath the curtain. Blinking sleepily, she rolled over and fully intended to fall back asleep. And then she was assaulted by the image of bright green eyes, leathery wings, and a man with furred limbs.
Drawing in a shocked gasp, Orihime sat bolt upright as she realised that it had been no dream. She really was in a room from a gothic-horror novel, surrounded by trinkets and belongings that were not her own.
She felt as though she was going to be sick, and so she bolted over to the window and flung it open, taking the fresh air in with deep, gulping breaths, a cold sweat breaking out on her brow.
Anxiously, Orihime brought her hands to either side of her throat. "Oh, thank goodness," she sighed with relief as her hands found no puncture wounds on either side.
"Orihime-san?" Shun'o asked from where she was hovering beside Orihime's head, and Orihime found reassurance in her presence, and the warmth of the sun. Warmth that was so different to the cold that had emanated from the strange creature Draculquiorra. "Are you … Alright, Orihime-san?"
"No. I'm not alright," Orihime sighed, covering her eyes as she attempted to make sense of the situation and her thoughts. "I'm in a room only god-knows-where, with someone I thought that belonged to fairy tales."
Shun'o frowned, then opened her mouth to speak – but was cut off by another of Orihime's fairy's breaking free of its sealed state.
"Damn it woman! Does it matter if he's from fairy tales? He's real, and he didn't hurt you. That's the main thing, isn't it?" Tsubaki screeched at her, Shun'o sighing behind him.
"I suppose so …" Orihime trailed off thoughtfully. It was true that Draculquiorra hadn't hurt her – yet – but what about all those others he had? From her town alone, he had killed five.
Unbidden, the sorrowful image of her captor surfaced in her mind, and Orihime sighed. This was getting confusing. This was someone she knew could kill, someone who had almost sank his fangs into her neck as well last night, and yet … When she thought of him, she felt no fear, only sympathy. Which was bewildering, to say the least.
Her musings were brought to an abrupt halt, however, when she heard the door behind her open, and she turned around, a little worried, as her fairies hurriedly returned to her hair pins. For the briefest moment she thought that even thinking of Draculquiorra had summoned him.
But it was not her captor that stood in the room, instead it was another man with bright blue hair, his teal eyes feline in nature and a scowl on his face.
"I thought I smelt something odd in here," the newcomer said, a distinctive snarl in his voice, and his eyes swept over Orihime, as though sussing her out. "Why hasn't he killed you yet?" he asked, bluntly, a look of disdain on his face.
Orihime couldn't answer, even if she wanted to, her throat felt as though there was something jammed inside it, and her blood felt as if it had turned cold at the menacing aura the visitor was projecting. Her silence seemed to aggravate the blue-haired man though, as he was suddenly prowling towards her, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I asked you a question, chick."
Opening her mouth to try and speak, but she felt overwhelmed by the volatile nature that was radiating off this person, and the words didn't want to leave detach themselves from her tongue. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her pounding heart, willing the lump in her throat to go away.
Suddenly, a hand was wrapped tightly around her throat, a growl echoing around the room as Orihime felt the floor beneath her feet disappear. Her own hands came to grasp at the blue-haired man's arm, instinctively trying to pry him off her. How this person could be holding her off the floor with one arm, Orihime didn't know, nor was she in any position to wonder about it as her air supply was being cut off.
"Grimmjow," a monotonous voice cut in, a warning hidden beneath the name, and the blue-haired male clucked his tongue, bringing Orihime back down to the ground, where she promptly fell to her hands and knees, clutching at her throat as she attempted to force breath back into her lungs.
Cautiously, she looked back up at Grimmjow and noticed that he was still looking down at her, an irritated, yet curious expression on his face, his hands now clenched into tight fists at his side. With an obvious effort, he averted his attention to whoever it was that had broke into the scene – much to Orihime's relief.
Orihime followed his lead and turned her attention to the newcomer as well, her eyes narrowing with uncertainty as she caught sight of them. How many people, or beings, were in this house? First a man-like creature with wings and fur, then someone who, inexplicably, had bright blue hair and could lift her off the ground with one hand, and now another man was standing in her doorway, his attention focused on Grimmjow.
For the briefest moment, Orihime thought the new male was naked, until she realised that his skin was simply the same colour as his clothes – snow-white. His jacket, though short at the front, had coat-tails long enough that they almost brushed the floor as he stood, and his pants were a pair of Hakama. The white of his top and pants were only further exaggerated by the boots he wore, the hems of his jacket, and the sash on his Hakama, all of which were black.
Then, Orihime paid closer attention to the newcomers face, taking in his shoulder-length raven hair, the startlingly, bright emerald green eyes, and the thin teal-tear streaks that ran down his face. As she looked at him, the pale-man glanced down at her, and in the moment their eyes met, Orihime had a flash of the night before, something that made her gasp in shock with realisation.
Before she could speak, Draculquiorra turned his glare back to Grimmjow, who seemed to have understood an unspoken command that came with the expression, for he chose that point to snarl once more. Throwing Orihime another look, though this one was more intrigued than threatening, he pushed his way past Draculquiorra, who still stood in the doorway.
Shakily, Orihime rose to her feet, her eyes locked on the form of Draculquiorra, trying to understand why he looked so different from the night before. He regarded her once more, before he also turned to leave the room.
"Wait!" Orihime cried out, instinctively, and Draculquiorra cocked his head so that he looking at her from the corner of his eye. "I don't … understand. You're … the same one from last night, aren't you?"
Hesitantly, Draculquiorra turned so that he was fully facing Orihime, his eyes narrowing the smallest amount, so small that if Orihime hadn't been paying close attention she would have missed it. "If I am?" he asked her slowly.
"But … The fur, and the wings…" she gestured helplessly at his current form, her brow furrowed with confusion.
Sighing softly, Draculquiorra took a step towards her, "That … is my released form. It's … more convenient to use this on a day to day basis."
"Why?"
Draculquiorra looked taken by surprise for a split second before his poker-face returned, and he began to explain, "Because … this form doesn't stand out as much, and it tends to be easier to move around in-"
As Draculquiorra attempted to explain, Orihime had the distinct impression that he wasn't used to explaining why he preferred this more humane form, a thought that made her wonder if Draculquiorra had spent most of his life alone. A thought which, in turn, made the sympathy she felt for the vampire before her return.
And then she felt it. As she listened to Draculquiorra's reasons, his frown becoming more pronounced as he continued to try and explain, Orihime trying to understand everything that was going on around her, a headache was coming on. Only, this felt worse than a headache, more like she was rocketing towards a cliff with no way to stop it.
"Stop!" a small voice suddenly cried out, halting Draculquiorra's fumbled explanation and both pairs of eyes in the room were drawn to Shun'o who had jumped from her sealed state, an urgent look on her face. Beside the blonde captain of Orihime's fairies, hovered Tsubaki, his arms folded and eyes narrowed as he glared at Draculquiorra, something that Orihime distantly felt amusing considering the severe difference in height.
"Ayame," Shun'o called softly, and the timid fairy partner of Shun'o sprung out of her released state as well. She glanced at Shun'o for a few seconds, then nodded with understanding. She came to float in front of Orihime, and extended her hand out so that her forefinger and middle finger were placed in the center of Orihime's forehead.
"Sorry, Orihime-san," she whispered, and Orihime realised what she was doing at the last minute.
"No! I don't … want … to …" she trailed off, first falling to her knees, then Ayame and Shun'o lowered her to the ground by her arms, slowly so that she wouldn't wake up with bruises.
"That was close," Shun'o sighed as she looked down at Orihime's sleeping form apologetically, before fixing Draculquiorra with a cold look. "You almost overloaded her, you know," she stated as she quickly returned to a height where she could meet his eye. "If we hadn't put her to sleep, her mind would have snapped. Don't you have any experience with humans? You can't just dump all that otherworldly information on them!"
"No, I don't," Draculquiorra told the small-being in front of him, trying to ignore his inane curiosity about the three that were floating in the room, Ayame watching over Orihime, and Tsubaki silently glaring at him from behind Shun'o still. How peculiar they all were.
Shun'o's glare lessened slightly at his words. "You've never been around humans before?"
Before Draculquiorra could say anything to the fairy, the black-male one caught his attention, using the most ridiculous term Draculquiorra had ever heard, let alone been called.
"Oi, bat-boy. I don't know what your intentions are, bringing the woman here," he said, a definite snarl to his words, "but if you hurt her in any way, you'll have us to deal with, you hear?" and, as he finished his threat, another three fairies leapt out with cries of agreement and joined the two who were staring Draculquiorra down, Ayame still fussing over the Woman asleep on the floor.
Casting his eyes over the group of fairies before him, Draculquiorra couldn't help but wonder how a human came to be in possession of this group that were threatening him. Him! The fourth born vampire-son, Ulquiorra Schiffer.
Scoffing under his breath, Ulquiorra turned and left the room without a word, his coat tails flapping behind him. She truly is a strange woman, he thought as he sought out Grimmjow, wondering where the foolish were-panther had gone to, and whether he was making a mess of his kitchen – again.
And there we have it, the end of Chapter two~
What did you guys think? Hopefully you liked it - I promise, there will be proper interaction soon =3
